Starmer overrides value-for-money concerns to approve record £500,000 payout for dismissed civil service chief
The unprecedented settlement, which exceeds the previous record held by Tom Scholar, was deemed necessary to avoid distraction from government operations, according to internal correspondence.
Former civil service chief Chris Wormald has received a record payout in the region of £500,000 following his dismissal from the role of cabinet secretary by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The payment, which exceeds Wormald’s contractual entitlement, was approved only after Cabinet Office permanent secretary Cat Little secured a ministerial direction from the prime minister to override standard value-for-money concerns.
Wormald served in the top civil service position for just 14 months before being replaced by Antonia Romeo. The scale of the settlement, first reported by the Financial Times, required Little to formally request Starmer’s intervention in February. In correspondence with the prime minister, Little noted that while the award surpassed what Wormald was contractually owed, a settlement of this magnitude was considered necessary given the short notice of the departure from such a high-profile and unique role.
Little’s letter to Starmer highlighted the complexity of the legal position surrounding the exit. She stated that it was not possible to conclude whether the proposed settlement represented value for money based on standard metrics. However, she urged the prime minister to consider wider considerations, specifically the public interest in bringing the matter to a conclusion and preventing distraction from the effective operation of government.
The previous highest settlement for a civil service chief was £457,000, awarded to Tom Scholar in 2022 when he was forced out as permanent secretary of the Treasury by then-Prime Minister Liz Truss. Scholar’s package included severance pay and compensation in lieu of notice and leave. Wormald’s payout now surpasses that benchmark, marking a significant shift in the financial handling of exits from the highest levels of the civil service.
Whitehall sources indicated that the £500,000 figure is an approximation and not the exact amount paid to Wormald. Further details regarding the specific level of the settlement are expected to be published in the department’s annual report and accounts. Upon leaving office, Wormald was nominated by Starmer to become a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. The Cabinet Office declined to comment on individual human resources matters.
